Engine



Lamm@ J.MCB.SHARP ENGINE Filed Oct. 7. 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mlm@ /4 mwImm/70H H Y ...A H S m E@ m WW .M Hw, E. FN

ATTOWNEY Uct. 23 i923. 11,472,028 J. MCB. SHARP ENGINE Filed oct, '2.1919 ssneetssheet 2 mmmwl J. MCB. SHARP ENGINE Filed Oct. 7 1919 5Sheets-Sheet 5 ADMISSION l Q Y) (u RELEASE IN VEN TOR JEFFERSON MBR/DE'SHA RP ATTORNEY @et 23 T1923.

J. MCB. SHARP ENGINE Filed oct. v,

1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 f @c U,

/NVENTDR JF'FERSON MS'JBRIDE SHARP ATTORNEY J. MCB. SHARP ENGINE Filedoct. 7, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 QOMAQ .QPR

NVEN 'TGR JEFFERSON MSBRIDE SHARP ATTORNEY v the ports more clearly.

Patented @et 23, i923.

NETE@ SITES anatre garant carica.

JEFFERSON I'IICBRIDE SHARP, OF OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, SSIGNOR T0NATIONAL TRANSIT PUMP & MACHINE COMPANY, OF OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, A.CORPORA- TION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ENGINE.

Application filed October 7, 1919.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON MCBRIDE SHARP, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Gil City, in the county oi' Venango and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inEngines, of which the yfollowing is a specification.

The objects, construction and operation of my improved engine are hereinset forth with suiiicient clearness to enable those skilled in therespective arts of constructing and operating steam and otheriiuid-actuated engines to make and use the same.

@ne object of this invention is toy provide a steam or fluid-actuatedengine wherein the steam-valve will, in the main, be actuated by thesteam or other actuating fluid employed to operate the engine. Anotherobject is, to provide a steam engine in which the desired cushioningaction may be readily secured without the use vof special valves forthis purpose. Other objects will be disclosed in the followingspecification.

One form of construction whereby I attain said objects is clearlyillustrated in the accompanying drawings, the Various figures of whichare as follows:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the cylinder and the mechanicalvalve-actuating gear.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of said cylinder.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cylinder with the steam chest and valvesremoved to show Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal section of the upperwall of the cylinder on line IV- IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section of the upper wall of thecylinder on line V-V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the powercylinder on line VI-VI of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section through the upper portion of the powercylinder and the central line of the steam chest showing the slide valvein section and the valve-actuating piston in side elevation. l

Fig. 8 is a plan View of the slide valve.

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of said valve.

Fig. l0 is a longitudinal section on line ot Fig. 8.

Fig. ll is a transverse sect-ion on line ari-m' of Fig. 8.

Serial No.y 329,007.

Fig. l2 is an inverted plan view of said valve showing the modified formof chamber. l

Figs. 13 to 16 inclusive are plan views of he port .face of the steamchest, showing the slide valve in its i'our principal positions.

It should be understood that these drawings are merely intended for thepurpose of clearly illustrating one form of mechanical embodiment ot myinventive idea; one which has been found in actual practice to beproductive of economy, eihciency, and smoothness of operation, butinasmuch as modifications of considerable variation from theconstruction shown, could be employed without departing from the scopeof my inventive idea, it is not my intention to be limited to theprecise construction shown in the drawings.

Before entering upon a description in detail of the construction, asillustrated, a general` statement of the predominating points of myinvention will be conducive to a clear fundamental conception of same.

A. slide valve is employed in the steam chest to co-operate with theports for the admission and release of the steam or other actuatingiiuid to the bore of the cylinder and this valve is adapted to have fourdistinct movements for each cycle of the engine; two of these movementsare substantially parallel to the axis of the cylinder, or in the samedirections as the movements of the power piston: these movement-s havetermed pilot movements andare communicated to the slide valve,mechanically, by means of gearing connected to the piston ro The twoother movements of said valve are transversely to the aXis of thecylinder, and are communicated to the slide Valve by a fluid-actuatedpiston. These four movements are communicated to the slide-valve in suchorder and sequence that it is caused at each cycle or' the engine todescribe a rectangle, which may at times vary to a rhomboid, dependingupon certain adjust- (SO f communication between these ports and theport of the exhaust passage, whereby steam is released from thecylinder.

The slide valve which l employ is of the n well-known D-type, the cavityor Vchamber of which is modified,-as hereafter fully explainedso as toadapt it to perform the functions due to the four positions to which itis successively actuated.

lt is the provision of the two separate steam-admission passages lforeach end of the cylinder, the relative location of the portsfor thesepassages in the cylinder bore, the Varrangements of the ports of thesepassages in the steam-chest with relation to each other and to the portof the exhaust passage together with the construction and operation of asingle valve to properly cooperate with and control these ports for theadmission and release of the piston-actuatingy fluid, and to secure theproper cushioning action thereby, which form the essential features ofmy invention. I am aware that direct acting engines have heretofore beenconstructed* which employ two valves for the accomplishment ofsubstantially the same objects and functions above mentioned, but, sofar as I am aware, these functions have not heretofore been accomplishedby means of a single valve.

The construction, as illustrated by the drawings, is substantially asfollows:

rlhe bore 1 of the working-cylinder 2 is provided with a piston 3 whichmay be of the usual construction;V said piston is provided with a rod 4which extends through a stuffing-box 5 in theV Vcylinder-head 6. Saidcylinder 2l is provided with a steam-chestseat 7, 'which carries thesteamschest 8.

lithin said steam-chest is located a slidevalve 9 which is adapted tohave a movement in a line parallel with the axis of cylinder; said valve9 is actuated by means of a stem 19, which is 'connected to the upperend of the lever 11 by means of the valvestem-link 10', which lever isprovided with a fulcrum 12 inthe sleeve or collar 13, that is carried bya tie-rod 14 which serves to connect said cylinder 2, to any othersuitable appliance to be operated, such as a pump (not shown) thelowere-nd of lever 13 is connected to the piston-rod 4 through a link 15',and arms 15, that are carried by the split cross-head 16,.which issecured to said piston-rod by means ofthe bolts 17. The upper end ofsaid lever 11 carries an eye-block 18 which is easily slidable upon saidvalve-stem-link lO. Tappets 19 and 20 are mounted upon saidvalve-stem-link 10" by means of a screw-thread, whereby adjustability ispro-r vided to secure a greater or lesser degree of actuation of saidstem by said eye-block as the same contacts with said' tappetsrespectively, and thus to actuate saidjstem and the thereto-'connectedslide-valve 9.

Various views of said valve 9 are shown in Figs. 8 to 12 and by areference to Figs.

8, 9, 10, and 11 it will be noticed thatfsaid lvalve is provided withtwo actuation lugs 22, 22 between which an actuation-block 22 islocated,4 and which is Secured to said stem 10 by means of .a pin 23.vAn elongated slot 24 is provided through said lugs `22 forthe passage ofsaid stem 10, Vwhereby a moveverse'rmovementof valve 9, aV piston 25 isVprovided, which is carried in a suitably constructed cylindrical casing26 located abovethe steam-chest. The respective ends of said piston areformed into a head or piston 27 and 28, which are united by a neck 29.vThe inner opposing faces 30, 30 of said heads are adapted to bear uponthe end faces 31-31 of the lugs 22, for the purpose of actuating saidvalve 9... rl`he respective piston-heads 27 and 28 fit closely in thecylindrical casing provided therefor, thus adapting said piston to befluid-actuated.

Themanner in which said fluid-actuation is attained willipresently bepointed out, but this will be more easily understood if the variousadmission and release passages and the relative varrangement of theports thereof are first explained.

Referring to Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 an 13, it willV be noted that there is anadmission-passage for each end of the cylinder, as 32 and'33respectively, and'that these passages are located at and extendfparallel with` the longitudinal centerV line of the cylinder; the

sitioned in the counterbore, so that they are never covered orcontrolled by the piston 3. F rom the passage a steam-duct 39 leads toone end of the bore of the piston casing llO 26: from theV passage 34 asteam-duct4() y leads to the bore at the opposite end ofthe said pistoncasing.

The steam-inlet to the steam-chest is indicated by the reference numeral41. n

Located between the ports 34 and 35 is the release or exhaust port 42.ll pon either side of said exhaust port is located the main admissionports 43--44. Port 43 opens into the passage 45 which leads to one endof the cylinder; the cylinder port 47 of Port'44 opens into avpassage 46which leads to the other end of the 'cylinder5'the cylinder port of thispassage is also located farther from the end of the cylinder than port38, so that it is also covered by the piston at the interval when thepiston is at this extreme end of its stroke.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the piston 3 is shown in dotted lines for the purposeof indicating its position with reference to said ports 4l and 48 asjust stated; these respective positions of the piston should not,however, be considered in connection with the explanation whichimmediately follows.

Reverting now to the actuations and functions of the slide-valve 9, theyare as follows:

Referring to Fig. 13, `note that the position of the slide-valve isshown by t-he shaded section,-which is also the case in Figs. 14, 15,and 16. It may now be readily understood that 'inasmuch as live steam isbeing admitted at port 41, this steam fills the steam-chest and is freeto pass through port 44, passage 46, and port 48 (Fig. 5) into one endof the cylinder; steam may also pass through port 34, passage 32 andport 38 into the same end of the cylinder. Steam is also being releasedfrom the opposite end of the cylinder port 47, passage 45, port 43, andthe exhaust port 42. Also at this juncture steam is being admittedthrough lduct 40 to one end of the valve-actuating piston 25. The nextposition of the slidevalve is shown in Fig. 14, which indicates thatsaid valve has been actuated longitudinally by the valve stem 10 so asto release steam through port 34, and admit steam to the opposite end ofthe cylinder through port This movement of the valve is what is termed apilot7 movement, since its function is to admit steam to and release itfrom the piston casing, whereby said piston-valve is caused to movetransversely' and to shift the slide-valve 9 across the ports 43 and 44.

Note that in said Fig. 14 steam may pass to one end of thevalve-actuating piston through the duct 39, and be released from theother end of said valve through the duct 40. This causes an actuation ofsaid valve-actuating piston which is communicated to the slide-valve andshifts it transversely to the position shown in Fig. 16,

in which steam may be admitted to one endv of the cylinder through port43, passa-ge 45 and port 47; steam may also be released from theopposite end of the cylinder through port 48, passage 46, port 44, and

Y the exhaust port 42 z-The next actuation from the position shown inFig. 16, is a longitudinal actuation to cause another pilot function ofthe slide-valve; this position is shown in Fig. 15, and completes thecycle of operation.

A steam cushion is formed at the end of each stroke of the piston 3 inthe following manner. By a reference to Fig. 4 it will be seen that thepiston 3 when at one extreme end of the stroke covers the port 47, andat this juncture port 35 is also covered by the slide-valve 9; therebeing, therefore, no further release or escape for the steam, it iscompressed and forms an efficient cushion to arrest the momentum of thepiston prior to the reversal of its movement. High speed is thereforeattainable with this construction.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 12 of the drawings, which is aninverted plan view of the slide-valve.

From the foregoing description of the functions of this valve, theobject of the diagonal lines a-a of the valve will readily appear, whichis to cause the valve, upon its transverse movements to close the ports35 and 34, as shown in Figs. 13 and 16 respectively.

From the foregoing description it will readily be noted that I amenabled, by means of a simple rectilineally movable slide valve of theD-type, to secure certain objects which heretofore have been securedonly by means of oscillating, cylindrical pistons, 0r pistons operatingin a cylindrical chamber; such pistons are not only difficult andexpensive to construct, but, unlike valves of the D-type, they areunable to follow up their own wear and when they become slightly wornthey must be renewed, and the cylindrical chamber in which they operatemust be rebored in order' to secure the original eihciency. Furthermore,all rotative valves are liable to stick, either from expansion due toheat, or from ru-st, and are thereforek unreliable, expensive tooperatc, and difiicult to keep in repair. A valve of the Detype is notsubject to any of these objections, and all engineers and operatives arefamiliar with its construction and operation.

From. an inspection of the inverted plan view, Fig. 12, it will readilybe noted that the chamber or exhaust cavity of the valve 9, as delinedat the seating face of said valve, has a substantially rhomboidal form:This particular form is for the lpurpose of adapting said valve tocontrol the ports 34 and 35. The function of said valve, relative to theports 42, 43 and 44, is affected by its relatively transverse movementonly,-that is, the movement caused bythe valve-actuating pistonawhereasthe functions of said valve 9 in relation to said ports 34 and 35, areaffected by both its longitudinal and transverse movements, as will benoted by a reference to Figs. 13, 14, 15 a-nd 16.

l claim the following:

1. A single cylinder engine comprising in combination, a power cylinder,a piston operativc in the boreof said cylinder, said cylinder beingprovided with a plurality of steam passages'leading to the same end ofto govern all ot' said steam chest ports for the admission of steam tosaid steam passages and the release ot same tr m all ot them into saidrelease passage as and lor `the purpose set toi-th, a "l means arrangedto actuater said valve accordingly, said means including a stemconnected directly to said valve to which stem i'i'ievcment istransmitted by suitable inter?.ietate mechanism from the rod el saidpiston, also l.cam-actuated pi on operably connected to said valve so asto actuate same in a plane transversely te the actuation ot said stem.

21A single cylinder engine comprising in combinatioi'i,V a powercylinder, a piston operative in said cylinder provided with the usualpiston-rod, a steam chest carried by said cylinder, two primary steampassages leading respectively trom said steam chest into the oppositeends ol" the bore of sal-1l cylinder, the port which opens from each el'said passages into said bore being positioned so asl to be covered bythe piston when at the respective extremes et its stroke, two secondarysteam passages leading spectively into opposite ends ot the bore of saidcylinderjthe ports which open fromv said secondary into said bore be`ing positioned at theezitreme ends et said bore respectively so not tobe covered by said piston when at the respective'extremes ot its stroke,an exhaust passage leading from said steam chest to the atmosphere, arectilincally-movable valve ott theV D type operable to etl'ect theadmission oi steam trom said steam chest into the bore of said cylinderthrough said Steam passage and the release of same from said primarypassage, so the partial release et same from said secondary passagethrough said exhaust pas sage, and means actuating said valveaccordingly which means includes a longitudinallyreciprocatingl stemconnected to said valve, actuated through suitable intermediatemechanism from said piston `rod and in alinement therewith, also asteam-actuated piston operably connected to said valve sov as to actuatesaine in a plane transversely to the actuation oi said stem.

3. lin an engine in combination, a power cylinder, a .power pistonoperative in said cylinder, a steam-chest carried by said cylinder,twoprimary steam passages leading chest into the counter-bore oit saidcylinder,

a release Vpassage said passages being provided each with a port'communicating with said steam-chest, said steam passagesbeing alsocommunicable' with Vsaid release passages; a valve ol the D, type insaid steamchest adapted to co-operate with and to govern kall ot saidports tot: the purposes set 'erth, and means `tor actuating said valve,comprising a valve stem operablyconnected to said power piston, and asteam-actuated piston also operably connected to said valve, thesteanractuation for said last-inentioned piston being controlled by saidvalve.

Il. ln an engine, in combination, a `power cylinder provided with asteam chest, and having a plurality of steam passages leading ulli-omsaid chest to the same end of the bore et said cylinder, each throughits respective port in said chest and said cylinder, said cylinder portsvarying as to their location longitudinally orn the cylinder-bore, arelease port insaid steam chest co-operative with 'all said other portstherein, a slide valve el the D type governing all of said steam chestports, means :for actuating said valve accordingly comp sing a'valve-stem connected to a suitably-operative element ot the engine, anda steam-actuated piston, steam tor the actuation ot which is controlledvby said Ivalve, and a piston operative in said cylinder, adapted toco-operate with the cylinder-port ot one et said passages, for thepurpose set forth.

5. ln an engine,'in combination, cylind er provided with a steam chest,vand having a plurality ol' steam passagesV leading fromY said chest tothe same end oli' the bore oic said cylinder,f each through itsrespective port in said chest and said cylinder, said cylinder portsvarying as to their location longitudinally of the cylinder bore, a release port in said steam chest co-operative with all said other portstherein, a slide valve of the i3 type having a chamber ot asubstantially rhomboidal term, whereby, conjointly with the variouspositions assumed during the movements et said valve, it is adapted toco-operate with and govern all el' said steam chest ports, means-foractuating said valve accordingly, and a piston operative in saidcylinder and overrunning'one of said cylinder ports for the purpose setforth.

6. ln an engine, in combination, a power cylinder, a steam chest'carriedby said cylinder, said cylinder being provided with two steam passagesleading through separate ports from saidsteam chest to the same end Yecof the bore of said cylinder, and each communicating with said bore bymeans of a port, one of which ports is positioned within the limit oftravel of the power piston, the other of said ports being positionedbeyond said limit of travel, a release port for said steam chest adaptedfor co-operation with said other ports of the steam chest, a slide valveof the D type having an exhaust chamber of substantially rhomboidal formwhereby it is adapted to govern all of said steam chest ports for thepurposes set forth, which includes the closure of one of the ports toproduce a final cushioning of the power piston as one of said purposes,means for actuating said valve comprising a. suitablyactuated valve stemand a steam-actuated piston operably connected to said valve, steam forthe actuation of said last-mentioned piston being controlled by saidvalve, and a piston operative in said power cylinder overrunning saidport which is positioned within said limit of its travel.

7. In an engine, in combination, a power cylinder, a piston operativetherein and provided With the usual piston-rod, a steam chest carried bysaid cylinder, two steam passages leading through separate ports in saidsteam chest to the same end of the bore of said cylinder andoommunicating therewith through separate ports, one of which ispositioned to be overlapped by said piston at the end of its stroke, theother of said ports being positioned at the extreme end of said cylinderso as not to be overrun by said piston, a valve of the D type having achamber which, upon the valve face, is substantially rhomboidal in form,carried in said steam chest and adapted to have tworelatively transversemovements whereby and in conjunction with said rhomboidal form of itschamber it is adapted to govern the admission of steam to said cylinderand the release of same therefrom through all of said passages, meansactuated by said piston for transmitting one of said movements to saidvalve, and a steam-actuated, longitudinal movable piston adapted totransmit said other movement to said valve, the steam for the actuationof said last-mentioned piston being controlled by said valve.

8. An engine comprising, in combination, a power cylinder, a pistonoperative in said cylinder and provided with the usual pistonrod, asteam chest carried by said cylinder, a primary steam passage leadingfrom a port in said steam chest to a port adjacent to one end of thebore of said cylinder positioned so as to be overlapped and closed bysaid piston at the related end of its stroke, a secondary steam passageleading from a port in said steam chest to a secondary port in the boreof said cylinder positioned so as not to be closed by said piston, arelease port in said steam chest, a valve of the D type in said steamchest having two movements relatively transvierse each to the othercontrolling all of said steam chest ports as and for the variouspurposes set forth, a steam-actuated, longitudinally-movable,valve-actuating piston.

mounted Yin proximity to said slide valve operably connected thereto soas to move the same in one ofisaid directions, means for alternatelyadmitting steam to and releasing same from the respective ends of saidactuating piston to cause said pistonactuation, and means operablyconnected to said piston-rod for actuating said valve in said otherdirection.

9. In an engine, the combination of a power piston and a controllingvalve for the actuating medium for said piston, actuating means for saidvalve consisting of a mechanically actuated stem operably connected tosaid valve, a Huid-actuated piston also connected to said valve, theactuating fluid for said last-mentioned piston being controlled by saidvalve; said power piston and said valve being adapted and co-operatingto produce a cushioning of said power piston `at the end of its stroke.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JEFFERSON MCBRIDE SHARP.

Witnesses:

T. L. BLAIR, MARY RIDDLE.

